Surfing (F)un-employment

In all the fallout from the Snowden and NSA scandal, I think the only surprise news was that journalists woke up and actually started doing investigative reporting. Checking sources?! Stop the presses! I don't think anyone with a shred of discernment was shocked that many companies track users and communications. Information is currency and some companies' currency rivals that of governments. Nevertheless, I decided to delete my Facebook account for a few reasons: I wanted to protest (in some small, futile way) the creeping disregard for privacy (Verizon, you're next on my list!) As a journalist, I shudder at the number of my colleagues citing sources from Facebook. Seriously. If you believe things posted on Facebook, I have some great swampland in Florida to sell you. From a job perspective, having a Facebook account doesn't help me. If I want to post public information for potential employers, I'll stick to LinkedIn or this blog. Facebook is incredibly hac...

I've enjoyed reading Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0 . The authors divide their massive job-hunting treasure map/survival guide/pep rally into four parts. Each section is packed with advice, cajoling and "Guerrilla Intelligence" sub-sections that detail self-marketing strategies. Levinson and Perry's contention is that the job market is so competitive that ordinary job-hunting strategies are defunct. Therefore, guerrilla tactics -- effective marketing principles and tech savvy -- are de rigeur . The book, published in 2009, reflects the U.S. economic climate and pessimism of the time.  Unfortunately, at least for Part I,  the publishing date also showcases some passe technologies and applications. For example, Alta Vista is listed as a top news search engine. This may be still be true, but they didn't even appear in this article . (To be fair, the article counts both news search engines and individual news outlets as "news sites.") Personally, ...